Legend of ThunderClan
by Jaystorm23
Summary: Danger and darkness are rising, like littermates. three kits of ThunderClan are destined to save the Clans, unless they too destroy them, forever. Are the three up to it?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is going to be my first story, so forgive me if you don't like it. Please give your opinion in the reviews. Thanks!:)**

Allegiances

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER-

Firestar- ginger tom with a flame coloured pelt and green eyes

DEPUTY-

Blackstripe- tall gray tom with a black stripe down his back and amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT-

Dewbreeze- tortoiseshell and white she-cat

WARRIORS-

Lionfang- huge golden tom

Adderheart- gray tabby tom with white tail tip

APPRENTICE- Mousepaw

Whitefern- white she cat with gray paws

Stormclaw- brown tabby tom with darker ears.

APPRENTICE- Grasspaw

Flamepelt- dark ginger tabby tom

Larkshine- light brown tabby she-cat with a white underbelly and chest

APPRENTICE- Stonepaw

Birdwing- Pale brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Oakclaw- dark brown tabby with white paws and green eyes

Darkfire- Dark gray tabby tom

Rainclaw- gray and white tabby tom

Mistfall- black and white she-cat with green eyes

Bramblefoot- golden brown tom with brown stripes and tail tip and blue-gray eyes

APPRENTICE- Shrewpaw

Thrushtail- Gray tom with ginger patches

Iceclaw- white tom with blue eyes

Drizzlefur- Black she-cat with pale brown chest and underbelly

Pebblepelt- pale yellow tabby tom

APPRENTICES

Shrewpaw- Brown tabby tom

Stonepaw- Dark gray tom

Grasspaw- Gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

Mousepaw- Black tom with white patches

QUEENS

Sunfur- ginger and white she-cat with green eyes (mother to Firestar's kit, Pinekit- a ginger tabby tom)

Dawncloud- silver and white tabby with amber eyes (mother to Oakclaw's kits, Sparrowkit- dark brown tabby tom with white chest and paws and green eyes, Snowkit- white she-kit with dark gray paws and tail and amber eyes, Squirrelkit- dark brown tabby she-kit with green eyes, Silverkit- silver and white she-kit with green eyes.)

Brightsong- tortoiseshell and white she-cat (mother to Adderheart's kits, Cherrykit- tortoiseshell and white she-kit, Petalkit- gray tabby she-kit with a white patch on her nose)

ELDERS

Poppyshine- brown she-cat with white patches

Redpelt- Reddish-brown tom with a long tail

Tallnight- Tall black tom

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER

Owlstar- Huge brown tom with red eyes

DEPUTY

Nightshadow- Lithe black she-cat with yellow eyes

MEDICINE CAT

Smokefrost- Small smoky gray tom

RIVERCLAN

LEADER

Pikestar- Blue-gray tom with a long tail

DEPUTY

Grayclaw- Light gray tabby tom with very long claws

MEDICINE CAT

Ashfern- White she-cat with one gray paw

WINDCLAN

LEADER

Cinderstar- Silvery gray she-cat

DEPUTY

Mudear- wiry light tabby tom with a darker brown ear

MEDICINE CAT

Hawkstream- brown tabby tom

Prologue

"Spottedtail!"

"Greetings, Firestar."

The ThunderClan leader's eyes was filled with joy when he saw his former mentor, now with StarClan.

"I have an important message for you," Spottedtail announced.

"What is it?" Firestar felt a cold dread in his belly when he looked at his former mentor's dark eyes.

" _When the sky grows dark, and stars fall, three will rise to save the Clans. They will be the reason for the destruction as well as the survival of all the Clans. Place your paws wisely."_

Firestar's eyes grew wide when he heard this prophecy. It was echoed by the other StarClan cats, sitting in rows for as far as he could see.

" _Three will rise to save the Clans"_

" _Place your paws wisely"_

" _They will destroy and save the Clans"_

Chapter 1

Squirrelkit ran out of the nursery, her denmates on her tail.

"Can't catch me!" she taunted, speeding up, out of reach.

"That's not fair!" Her brother, Sparrowkit, pouted. "Not everyone has long legs like you!"

"Yeah, but some do," Petalkit, their older denmate, said, chasing after Squirrelkit. The older kit caught up to the feisty little she-cat, and threw her to the ground. Squirrelkit pushed her attacker off and dashed away, only to dash into her father, Oakclaw.

"Oops! Sorry, Oakclaw!" Squirrelkit squeaked.

"Go back to the nursery, little one. I'll play with you at sunhigh," her father promised. Squirrelkit glanced up at the sky. It was still barely after sunrise.

"Okay!" Squirrelkit gave an excited little bounce and rushed back to the nursery on long legs. She and her littermates Snowkit, Silverkit and Sparrowkit were a little over two moons old. Squirrelkit couldn't wait to be an apprentice! She knew that she would be the best one ThunderClan had ever seen!

As she was thinking of being an apprentice, she didn't see her sister Silverkit coming out of the nursery. She tripped right over her smaller littermate and ended up in a tangle of legs and tail. A mrrow of amusement caused her to glare upwards, which turned to horror and embarrassment when she realized that it was Firestar laughing at her. The leader had just seen how clumsy she was!

Flattening her ears in shame, she quickly untangled herself and helped her sister up. A flash of gray warned her to move aside, just in time to miss another attack from Petalkit.

"Come on, let's beat her together," A voice whispered in her ear. Turning around, she saw Pinekit, son of Firestar, behind her. Nodding excitedly, the two circled around Petalkit. As soon as Squirrelkit gave the signal, they both jumped on the startled gray kit, who gave up almost immediately. Both the attackers lifted their head in triumph.

"We win!"

"Petalkit, you could try to be better than that! We're going to be apprentices in another moon," Cherrykit, Petalkit's sister, said smugly. The gray kit shot her sister a glare, but the tortoiseshell-and white kit took no notice. Instead, Cherrykit bounded over to Squirrelkit.

"Let's go to the fresh-kill pile and see what's there," she suggested. Squirrelkit nodded and hared away, Cherrykit running after her.

"There's a mouse here. Do you want it?" Squirrelkit asked her best friend.

"No, I want a shrew. Are there any?"

"Yes. Here you go." Squirrelkit flung a shrew from the top of the pile, but the weight of the shrew unbalanced her, and she just managed to recover. She grabbed a squirrel for herself, and jumped down.

"Why don't you two take some fresh-kill for the queens? They must be hungry," Whitefern, a white warrior, suggested.

"Sure," Squirrelkit said, grabbing a blackbird in her jaws. Struggling to hold the two pieces of prey in her mouth, she followed Cherrykit, who had taken a mouse as well as a vole with her shrew, and seemed to not be struggling at all.

"Here!" Squirrelkit proudly deposited the blackbird at her mother's paws. Dawncloud blinked warmly at her kit.

"Thank you, little one. Do you want to share?" Her mother asked her.

"No, I've got my own prey!" she showed her squirrel. Whiskers twitching, Birdsong asked, "Did you catch that on your own now?"

Before Squirrelkit could reply, Cherrykit cut in. "Yeah, she caught it on the fresh-kill pile. With a mighty leap, she landed on the squirrel and fell of the fresh-kill pile!"

Squirrelkit bristled, but she wasn't actually annoyed. She sprang at her denmate, only to be pushed off by Dawncloud.

"Eat your squirrel first, Squirrelkit. StarClan doesn't give you prey to waste." Dawncloud chided. Squirrelkit obediently sat down to gulp down her food. She sat up to clean her whiskers, only to be bowled over by a white kit.

"Snowkit!" Squirrelkit hissed, rolling over to throw Snowkit off. Her sister jumped out of the way, and sprang again, but Squirrelkit was quicker. She jumped out of the way, and shoved Snowkit into Pinekit's face, who was just entering. The ginger kit, taken by surprise, let himself be carried of his paws, but recovered quickly.

Snarling, he leaped at Squirrelkit, but was knocked aside by Sparrowkit. By now all the kits had joined the fight. Shoving each other, half the kits fell on Sunfur. Hissing with impatience, the ginger and white she-cat left the nursery, tail-tip twitching.

Suddenly, a cat shrieked.

"Invaders! ShadowClan is attacking!" Squirrelkit heard Blackstripe's yowl.

"Get behind me," Dawncloud hissed, pushing all the kits behind her. Brightsong jumped up and stood beside the silver queen.

A mottled brown head poked into the nursery, snarling.

"Get out of here!" Birdsong hissed, delivering a flurry of blows to the tom's face. He pulled back and disappeared.

"What's happening?" Silverkit whimpered.

"It's okay," Squirrelkit tried to comfort her sister. Inside, Squirrelkit could feel the blood pounding. How she wished she could be an apprentice! She would tear those fleapelts' fur off, claw their ears, and leave them begging for her mercy!

"Let us fight! We'll teach them a lesson they'll never forget," Sparrowkit growled.

"What? No! You're not even six moons yet," Dawncloud mewed.

Before she could say anything else, another head poked in through the nursery entrance. It was a huge black and white tom. He thrust his shoulders into the nursery, glaring at the two spitting queens. Dawncloud lunged forward, but the tom merely swiped her away with one paw which sent her flying across the nursery. She fell limp, her head bleeding.

The tom entered the nursery completely. Birdsong still stood defiantly in front of the kits, but Squirrelkit could see that the tortoiseshell queen was trembling slightly. Squirrelkit looked around. Snowkit was sniffing tentatively at their mother.

"Dawncloud?" Squirrelkit whispered, edging closer to her mother. Sparrowkit was right behind her.

Behind them, Birdsong shrieked. "Help me!" she cried. Squirrelkit turned around to see the black and white tom fastening his teeth around Birdsong's throat. The ShadowClan tom fixed his gaze on Squirrelkit and Sparrowkit, who were creeping up on the tom. Bending down, he grasped Sparrowkit's scruff and tried to leave.

"Leave my brother alone!" Squirrelkit screeched, biting down on the tom's back paw. Caught by surprise, he dropped the dark tabby kit, and whirled around to face the little kit.

"You think you can beat me?" he growled. But it turned to a screech as Adderheart bit down hard on the tom's tail.

"Get out of the nursery," Adderheart growled. Adderheart was bigger than the black and white tom, and fluffing out his fur, the gray ThunderClan warrior looked twice as big as the ShadowClan warrior. The black and white tom's gaze seemed to have a flicker of fear in them, and he shot out of the nursery, Adderheart on his tail.

Squirrelkit peeped out. Everywhere, ThunderClan warriors were chasing the intruders out of the camp.

"You'll pay for this Owlstar! This fight was unprovoked and cost many innocent lives." Firestar yowled, anger and sorrow for his dead Clanmates sharp in his gaze.

As the last of the invaders ran out, Blackstripe and Firestar checked the wounded. Oakclaw ran into the nursery, fear in his wide eyes. He pushed inside the nursery, looking around. He trembled when he saw his mate's dead body.

"No," he whispered, collapsing next to his mate. "Why did you do this, StarClan?" he wailed. He touched her head with a paw. When he withdrew it, his paw was soaked in blood.

Birdsong stood up shakily, her eyes glazed with sadness though her neck was oozing blood. Sunfur entered the nursery, covered in scratches.

"You had better see Dewbreeze." She suggested softly to Birdsong. Dipping her head, Birdsong padded out, her tail drooping.

Squirrelkit pressed against her father, her littermates doing the same. Oakclaw swept his tail around his kits. He pressed his muzzle into his mate's fur, murmuring softly. Squirrelkit and her littermates copied him.

"Who will take care of us now?" Snowkit whispered softly.

"Will we have to leave the Clan?" Sparrowkit asked, fluffing out his dark fur.

His words seemed to have jolted Oakclaw awake. "Never!" he hissed, springing up. "No cat will ever lay a whisker on my kits, or they will have to face me." He swept his tail around his kits.

"I will take care of you. I am still your father. Nothing can ever change that."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Cherrypaw! Petalpaw!" Squirrelkit yowled along with her clanmates. The two kits had reached their sixth moon and had just been apprenticed.

Cherrypaw fluffed out her fur, excitement shining in her eyes as she sat next to her new mentor, Darkfire. Beside her, her sister Petalpaw sat calmly, holding her head high. Her new mentor was Mistfall.

Squirrelkit ran over to her friends to congratulate them. Birdsong and Adderheart were sitting by their daughters, pride and love in their gazes.

"Congratulations Cherrypaw, Petalpaw," Squirrelkit said, bounding to the new apprentices.

"Thanks!" Cherrypaw mewed happily. Petalpaw was purring too much to speak. Grasspaw and Shrewpaw, two older apprentices, joined them. Mousepaw and Stonepaw were right behind them.

"Come on, Cherrypaw. We're showing you the territory today," Darkfire mewed.

"You too, Petalpaw. We're going together," Mistfall called.

"Coming!" Cherrypaw called as she and her sister hared away.

"I can't wait for my apprentice ceremony!" Pinekit fluffed out his fur.

"Me too!" Snowkit agreed.

"You have to wait three more moons for it! I have only one moon!" Pinekit boasted.

"That's enough, Pinekit," Firestar, Pinekit's father, chided. "If I catch you boasting off in front of your denmates again, I'll make sure you're apprenticed one moon after them!"

"No! I'll behave, I promise," Pinekit mewed, his eyes wide.

"Very well," Firestar padded away, twitching his whiskers.

"Come on, let's go back," Squirrelkit called. "I'm hungry."

"Larkshine!" Squirrelkit called from the entrance to the nursery. The light brown tabby she-cat had moved to the nursery a few days back, expecting Flamepelt's kits.

"Yes?" the queen asked drowsily.

"Do you want anything from the fresh-kill pile?"

"A fresh rabbit would do," Sunfur answered for Larkshine.

"Okay!" Squirrelkit beat Sparrowkit to the fresh-kill pile, both of them trying to grab a plump rabbit.

"What are you two doing now?" Oakclaw asked, padding up to them.

"Larkshine and Sunfur wanted a rabbit," Sparrowkit started, but Squirrelkit cut him off. "So _I_ was going to give it to them," The little she-kit glared at her brother, who promptly launched an attack on Squirrelkit. The two fell off the fresh-kill pile, still wrestling each other.

"Are you going to give that rabbit or not?" Oakclaw reminded his kits, amusement in his eyes. The two littermates sat up, fur ruffled and dusty.

"We'll give it," Sparrowkit promised, and they carried the rabbit to the nursery together.

A horrified mew greeted them.

"Great StarClan, look at you two!" Larkshine gasped. "The rabbit can wait. Come over here, let me clean you up."

"We can wash ourselves!" Squirrelkit protested, but Sunfur had already grabbed her and was licking her clean. Beside her, Sparrowkit was receiving the same treatment from Larkshine. Finally, they both managed to wriggle free from the two fussing queens.

"You must be hungry. Here, have a piece," Larkshine offered, pushing the rabbit to them.

"Thank you," Squirrelkit mewed, tearing a piece of the plump rabbit.

"We're hungry too!" Pinekit wailed, bounding into the den. But before he could reach the rabbit, Sunfur pushed him away.

"If you're hungry, you should get prey from the fresh-kill pile, Pinekit. You're going to be an apprentice soon. Do you expect to make the warriors fetch your fresh-kill for you?" Sunfur asked. Seeing his downcast face, she softened.

"Come on, we'll get the fresh-kill together, and I'll show you a hunter's crouch. How about that?"

Pinekit brightened up, and followed his mother outside, his tail straight in the air.

"Can you show us too?" Squirrelkit asked Larkshine.

"Squirrelkit, don't disturb her. If you want, I'll show you," Oakclaw said, padding inside the nursery. Larkshine flashed the dark tabby a grateful glance as he herded his kits together.

The four kits jumped around Oakclaw as he tried to line them up. Squirrelkit watched her father intently, wanting to learn it in the first go.

"I don't want to learn it," Silverkit whispered in Squirrelkit's ear.

"Why? Don't you want to be a warrior?" Squirrelkit whispered back. She knew that Silverkit didn't want her other littermates to hear.  
You want to be a medicine cat, don't you?" she added.

Silverkit nodded, her eyes sad.

"That's great!" Squirrelkit exclaimed. Silverkit looked up, astonished.

"A medicine cat is so important to the Clan. Imagine if you were one! You would have to interpret signs from StarClan and learn herbs and meet other Clan cats!" before Squirrelkit could go on, Oakclaw interrupted her.

"Squirrelkit, were you listening?" her father demanded.

"Silverkit wants to be a medicine cat apprentice!" she announced.

"What?" Sparrowkit asked, eyes wide.

"Why?" Snowkit wailed. "We can't train together then."

Oakclaw purred. "Of course you can. Medicine cats are just as important as warriors."

"Of course!" Sparrowkit licked his Silverkit's ear. "Don't worry, Snowkit, we can still train together!"

Squirrelkit nodded. "Okay then," Snowkit finally agreed.

"Oakclaw, can you show me again?" Squirrelkit asked.

"Sure," Oakclaw demonstrated again, and they spent the whole evening trying out the hunter's crouch.

"I wish Oakclaw could be my mentor," Sparrowkit said later, as they were settling in the nest they shared with Sunfur.

"You can't! He's our father. It's against the warrior code!" Squirrelkit exclaimed.

"There are many warriors who are as good as-" Snowkit started to point out, but instead broke off with a cough.

"Snowkit? Are you okay?" Sunfur asked anxiously.

The white she-kit started to reply but coughed instead.

"Silverkit, fetch Dewbreeze. Now!" Sunfur ordered. Silverkit ran off, casting a last glance at her sick sister.

"What's wrong with Snowkit?" Squirrelkit asked worriedly.

"It's probably nothing but," Sunfur's voice trailed off.

A rustling and the patter of quick pawsteps announced Dewbreeze's arrival. She laid the herbs next to Snowkit and bent to sniff her muzzle. Then she placed a paw on Snowkit's chest to feel the cough. Silverkit was watching with a mix of admiration and worry, while Sparrowkit and Squirrelkit huddled together, fluffing out their fur.

"What is it?" Squirrelkit dared to ask. Dewbreeze didn't reply. Instead, she ordered Sunfur to take Snowkit to the medicine den. Silverkit followed Dewbreeze to the medicine den.

Pinekit joined Squirrelkit and her brother, who were still huddling together. The three of them sat together, waiting for Sunfur.

Despite her worry for her littermate, Squirrelkit fell asleep, tired after the training given by her father. Beside her, she could hear the slow breathing of her brother, and the loud snoring of their denmate.

When she woke up, she realized that Sunfur and Silverkit had joined them sometime later, but was still sleeping. She decided to see how Snowkit was, and stood up, shaking the moss from her pelt. Sparrowkit woke up too, and they both went to the medicine den together.

Inside, they saw that Dewbreeze had already woken up and was tending to Snowkit, who was coughing much more than the day before.

Exchanging anxious glances, they padded in, settling down a bit away from their sick littermate. Dewbreeze glanced up and twitched her ears in greetings.

"How is she?" Squirrelkit asked.

"She will recover," Dewbreeze said, but followed it with a sigh, which told Squirrelkit that Dewbreeze didn't believe her own words.

Sparrowkit placed his fluffy tail on Squirrelkit's shoulders, as if even he didn't believe the medicine cat, and wanted to comfort his sister.

A flurry of pawsteps announced their father's arrival.

"What happened to her?" he demanded. Dewbreeze motioned for him to follow her outside.

 _What is so important that we can't hear?_ Squirrelkit thought. Edging closer to the entrance where the two cats sat, Squirrelkit made out the words _whitecough, catmint, greencough and not survive._

Her eyes widened with fear. Snowkit was going to die? _No! She can't! I won't believe this!_ She thought, bristling. She saw Sparrowkit was right beside her, and had heard as much as she had. His eyes reflected her feelings.

They quickly went back to their original places as the ferns near the entrance swished and their father entered.

"Snowkit is going to die, isn't she? Tell me the truth!" Squirrelkit demanded. Sparrowkit stood up beside her, his eyes challenging his father too.

Oakclaw seemed a bit taken aback by his kits' fury, but then he hung his head in grief and nodded.

"I'm so sorry, kits. I've to still tell Silverkit. She doesn't know yet."

"I'll fetch her," Dewbreeze mewed tactfully. She came back after a few heartbeats, Silverkit running inside next to her.

"What happened to Snowkit? She's better, isn't she?" Silverkit asked. Her optimism seemed to make Oakclaw's grief even worse.

"No, Silverkit," he replied, his voice hoarse. "She won't get better, except in StarClan." Silverkit's eyes widened.

"You don't know that! She might live!" Silverkit argued. Squirrelkit could see that her sister was trembling.

"Can we say goodbye?" Sparrowkit asked, raising his head to look at their father. "Of course," the warrior said, dipping his head.

The three kits joined their littermate in her nest.

"Take care, Snowkit. I hope you learn how to hunt in StarClan," Sparrowkit mewed sorrowfully.

"Goodbye, Snowkit. Don't fall in a hole or anything like you used to. Tell Dawncloud that we love and miss her, please," Silverkit forced a purr, but failed, and instead buried her nose into Snowkit's fur.

It was Squirrelkit's turn now. "We'll miss you Snowkit. Have fun and make a lot of friends in StarClan," she mewed.

"Thank you," Snowkit managed to rasp. "I will learn to hunt, you just wait and see, but I won't fall in a hole, Silverkit. And I promise I'll make friends and tell Dawncloud."

She coughed again, drew a shuddering breath, and lay still. Her littermates buried their noses in her soft white fur. Oakclaw wrapped himself around his kits. Firestar came in just then, and touched Snowkit's head with his nose.

"The Clan will miss her. She was young and energetic, and had much to offer. StarClan shouldn't have taken her away," the Clan leader murmured. Oakclaw didn't say anything.

Firestar watched them mourn for some time. Afterwards, he leaned forward and whispered something in Oakclaw's ears. Nodding, the dark tabby warrior lifted up his dead kit gently by the scruff, and carried her away.

"He's taking her to bury her, isn't he?" Sparrowkit asked the Clan leader. Firestar nodded sadly. Dewbreeze told them to go back to the nursery, and they walked over silently.

Cherrypaw and Petalpaw joined them. Squirrelkit guessed that the whole Clan knew by then. She picked up some sympathetic murmurs from the warriors.

As she slept, she hoped that she would get dreams of her sister.

 **How was it? I know, I've made both the chapters end in a tragedy, but I promise the rest will be happy endings! (hopefully :p)**

 **All warrior related themes belong to Erin Hunter**

 **please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm back with chapter 3!**

 **ScorpioPanda- thanx so much for reviewing! I'll do what you said** **it really helps... please review for this chapter too!**

Chapter 3

Squirrelkit was playing with her brother when she heard another yowl from the nursery. Larkshine was kitting, and Sunfur and Dewbreeze had sent her and her littermates out of the nursery.

When she was distracted, Sparrowkit leaped on her, bowling her over. She pretended to give up. Sparrowkit stood on her triumphantly, relaxing. Squirrelkit jumped up, throwing her brother away. She swiped at his ears and pushed his head down. But he didn't give up. He kicked backwards, sending her tumbling down in front of his face. But the surprise lasted only for a second. She jumped on his back again, but he rolled over and crushed her with his broad shoulders before she could jump off.

"Well done, Sparrowkit," Oakclaw congratulated his kit. Sparrowkit beamed up at his father, while Squirrelkit stood up, her fluffy tail twitching crossly.

"I'll get you for that, stupid furball," she muttered.

But before she could retaliate, Dewbreeze emerged from the nursery. Flamepelt rushed into the nursery immediately.

"Can we see too?" Squirrelkit asked her father. He gave permission, and the two kits ran to the nursery. Pinekit, who had been sharing a mouse with Stonepaw, followed them. Silverkit had been inside during the kitting. She had already told Dewbreeze that she wanted to be a medicine cat apprentice, and the medicine cat had agreed.

Larkshine was in her nest, curled around three bundles of fur. Flamepelt was right next to her, both purring loudly.

"What are their names?" Pinekit asked curiously.

"We've not named them yet," Flamepelt informed them.

"How about Nightkit for this one?" Larkshine asked, touching a black kit with her tail. He shoved her tail off with his paw, mewing loudly.

Flamepelt purred. "He's already a little fighter. What do you think of Leafkit for this one?" He nosed the light brown tabby she-kit.

"Perfect. And Robinkit for him. He looks just like you," Larkshine said, pointing at the last kit. He was a dark ginger tabby, with a white paw.

"They're cute," Squirrelkit announced.

"Yes, they are. And you won't disturb them until they are old enough to play with you. Is that understood?" Sunfur mewed sternly.

The four kits nodded earnestly. Squirrelkit yawned. She settled down in her nest next to Sunfur. Her littermates settled down on either side of her, their pelts pressing warmly against hers. Soon, she heard their slow breathing as sleep crept over her.

The next day, she woke up earlier than the others. Looking around she saw Robinkit looking around, blinking.

"You opened your eyes already!" she said happily. He just blinked back at her.

Larkshine yawned. She was about to scold Squirrelkit for being so noisy when she saw Robinkit.

"Robinkit! You opened your eyes!" she purred. He looked up at her.

"Can I go out?" he asked softly.

"Wait for your littermates, dear."

"What are their names?" he asked curiously.

"This one's Nightkit and this is Leafkit," she said, pointing to each in turn. Leafkit woke up. Yawning immensely, she opened her eyes. Hers were deep green, while Robinkit's was amber. Squirrelkit watched as even Nightkit woke up. He had green eyes like his sister. The three crowded around their mother. Larkshine introduced Squirrelkit to them.

"Can I go out now?" Robinkit asked.

"I'll take them!" Squirrelkit said immediately. "I'll help too," Sparrowkit said. He had woken up when Squirrelkit was talking.

"Okay," Larkshine agreed. She started grooming her kits, saying something about wanting her kits to look perfect, but Squirrelkit didn't listen. She started discussing about what to show the new kits first with Sparrowkit.

"Can we go now?" Nightkit demanded, jumping in front of them.

"Of course," Sparrowkit mewed. He led the way, Squirrelkit bringing the rear.

"This is ThunderClan's camp," Squirrelkit announced importantly, striding over to join her brother.

"That's Firestar, the Clan leader," Sparrowkit said, nodding to the flame coloured tom sitting on the Highrock. He started explaining about the Highrock.

"The leader's den is in that cave. He calls clan meetings from the Highrock," Squirrelkit explained.

"The elders are awake. Let's go see them," Sparrowkit decided.

It had been a long time since Squirrelkit had visited the elders. As they made their way to the fallen tree which was the elder's den, the two littermates explained about the elders.

When they reached, Squirrelkit stuck her head through the entrance.

"Poppyshine, Redpelt, Tallnight, we've brought Larkshine's kits to see you," she said respectfully.

She entered, the three small kits tumbling after her, followed by Sparrowkit. They introduced themselves, sitting in front of the elders.

"Nightkit, Robinkit and Leafkit. Beautiful names," the old she-cat murmured.

"I'm Redpelt," An elder introduced himself. He was reddish-brown, with a long tail.

"I'm Tallnight," The oldest tom rasped. The younger kits looked at him closely. His black fur merged with the shadows, making it difficult for the kits to see him.

"And I'm Poppyshine," the she-cat said rather hastily. She was a brown she-cat with patches of white.

"Squirrelkit and Sparrowkit said that you tell stories. Can you tell us too?" Leafkit piped up.

"Next time, little one. You should meet the rest of the Clan first," Poppyshine said gently. The three kits didn't take any offence and followed their older denmates outside.

They both showed the three kits the apprentice den and the warriors den. They met Stonepaw and Grasspaw sharing tongues beside the fresh-kill pile, but before they could talk, Thrushtail called Stonepaw for hunting. The gray and ginger tom had taken over the apprentice's training while Larkshine was in the nursery.

They went to the medicine cat den next, where they met Silverkit and Dewbreeze. By then, it was past sunhigh, and the kits were feeling tired. Squirrelkit and Sparrowkit took them back to the nursery.

A few days later, Pinekit bounded into the nursery, excited.

"My apprentice ceremony is going to be held at dusk today!" he mewed, purring.

"Congratulations!" Sparrowkit said, giving him a friendly nudge.

"Yeah. Do you know who's going to be your mentor?" Squirrelkit asked. Pinekit shrugged.

Squirrelkit pushed her half eaten shrew to Pinekit, offering him a bite. He agreed and ate it up excitedly, talking non-stop.

"What's going on?" Nightkit asked, jumping out of his nest.

"I'm going to be apprenticed today!" Pinekit informed proudly.

"Cool!" Leafkit said, bouncing out of the nest.

Sunfur padded into the nursery.

"It's past sunhigh already. Dusk will be here soon," She said and settled down beside her kit. She started grooming Pinekit, ignoring his struggles. Finally, he looked sleek and his fur shone. Robinkit, who had joined his littermates, shot Pinekit an admiring glance.

After what seemed to be a lifetime, Firestar called the Clan together.

Pinekit padded out and sat next to Sunfur.

"Pinekit has reached his sixth moon, and is ready to become an apprentice." Beckoning the ginger kit forward, Firestar continued.

"Pinekit, from this day onwards, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Pinepaw. Blackstripe, you are an excellent deputy, and you mentored Iceclaw well. I hope you will pass on those same skills to Pinepaw."

Pinepaw's eyes shone as he touched noses with his new mentor.

"Pinepaw! Pinepaw!" the Clan called out his name. As they finished, Mousepaw and Cherrypaw led Pinepaw away, chattering excitedly.

"I can't wait till we're apprentices!" Leafkit said, jumping around.

"But you're only a moon old. You'll have to wait a long time," Squirrelkit reminded her. She looked subdued for a moment, but then burst out, "I don't care!" and started jumping around again.

Squirrelkit chose a blackbird from the fresh-kill pile and settled down to eat it. She watched as the dusk patrol set out, lead by Stormclaw, a brown tabby tom, with his apprentice Grasspaw, a gray tabby she-cat, followed by Drizzlefur, a black she-cat with a brown underbelly, and Rainclaw, a gray and white tabby tom.

Oakclaw led a hunting patrol, with Lionfang, a huge golden tom, Bramblefoot, a golden brown tabby tom and his apprentice, Shrewpaw, a lean gray tom.

Squirrelkit finished eating and decided to meet Silverkit, who was helping Dewbreeze in the medicine cat den. She longed for the day she would become an apprentice. Only around one moon left. She would be the best apprentice ever!  
She padded inside the medicine den. Dewbreeze was instructing Silverkit to make a poultice. "Did you put the poppy seed? Only one. Good. Now wrap it in a dock leaf. I'll give it to Redpelt," Dewbreeze instructed. Silverkit dutifully did what she was told to, and stepped back as Dewbreeze picked it up in her jaws. As the medicine cat passed Squirrelkit, she flicked her ears, in greetings. Squirrelkit nodded respectfully, and joined her sister.

"What was that for?" she asked, curiously. Silverkit had started pushing the scattered leaves back into piles. "Redpelt's legs were aching," she said without looking up from her work. Squirrelkit nodded, and asked if her sister needed help. Silverkit agreed and the littermates worked together until night.

 **That's chapter 3! Chapter 4 will take some time, cuz I'm going out for a couple of days. PLEASE REVIEW! (it does help) thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So this is chapter 4.. sorry I updated late...**

 **ScorpioPanda- Thank you so much! But actually Firestar isn't very important right now; he will feature more later on. That's why I've not focused much on him.**

Squirrelkit woke up to see Firestar talking to Larkshine. _What's going on?_ She wondered. Larkshine nodded and padded back to Squirrelkit. She noticed the queen's eyes were sparkling with happiness. She wondered why, then realization hit her like a rock.

"We're becoming apprentices today!" she squeaked, her voice sounding like a newborn kit's in her excitement. Larkshine nodded, purring. Squirrelkit jumped on her brother, waking him up. He lifted his head groggily. "Wha-" he asked.

"Our apprentice ceremony!" she almost shouted in his ear. At once, he perked up. Silverkit also woke up, twitching her ears. Squirrelkit leaped onto Sparrowkit's back. He fell down, shock at the unexpected attack. But he threw her off, getting over his surprise in a heartbeat. He threw himself at his sister, bowling her over. She wriggled away, dodging Sparrowkit's huge paws and jumped high over his head, her long legs giving her advantage. She landed behind her brother. Sparrowkit's bulkier frame didn't allow him to move very fast, and Squirrelkit had pulled him back by his tail before he could turn around.

Squirrelkit yowled in triumph as she flipped her brother over and drove his muzzle into the ground. "Okay! I give up!" his muffled voice reached her. She let him up.

"What are you two doing?" Oakclaw hissed, entering the nursery. They both quickly sat up and looked at their fur. It was a mess, and their ceremony was at sunhigh! Oakclaw quickly started grooming Sparrowkit's fur, while Larkshine started on Squirrelkit's. She grumbled, but didn't try to wriggle away as she normally did. She wanted to look her best for the ceremony!

After finishing her fur, Larkshine fussed over Silverkit's pelt. Squirrelkit fixed her shoulder fur which was sticking up, and wondered who her mentor would be. Not Rainclaw, he had mentored Pebblepelt, the youngest warrior. Maybe Iceclaw, or Whitefern. They hadn't had an apprentice yet. It could be Lionfang or Stormclaw too, or Birdwing, maybe Drizzlefur. She shrugged. She drew her paw over her ear thoughtfully, still thinking about her unknown mentor.

If only Snowkit were still here! They would have trained together, gone on patrols, hunted together, fought together, made warriors together. And all that was snatched away by a mouse-brained cough! She sighed. It was no use thinking about the past. She saw Sparrowkit, looking very sleek and handsome. Silverkit also looked beautiful. Squirrelkit waited, trotting around the nursery in impatience, while the younger kits got into her way in excitement.

 _It's not even as if it's their ceremony. So why are they so excited?_ She wondered, but then remembered the joy she had when her older denmates were apprenticed, and found it amusing to see Leafkit, Robinkit and Nightkit strutting around importantly.

Suddenly Leafkit sat straight and called out in a squeaky voice, "All cats who are old enough to catch are assembled below Highrock!" Squirrelkit purred as Leafkit got the words wrong. The young tabby kit had heard it only once before and remembered only bits of it. Nightkit and Robinkit obediently sat in front of her.

"I, Leafstar, will make you apprentices today. Nightpaw and Robinpaw are now apprentices! You will catch prey and clean the elder's bedding and fight. You can now do the elder's ticks!"

"Not fair!" Nightkit muttered. Every kit knew that removing the elder's ticks was the worst, and smelliest, task of an apprentice. Leafkit started protesting that the leader's word is law, but her brothers pounced on her before she could finish.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join us beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

"It's time!" Squirrelkit jumped to her paws.

"Yes, but you will walk there like sensible apprentices, is that understood?" Oakclaw asked, gazing sternly at his three kits. Squirrelkit nodded vigorously; her littermates were doing the same.

Oakclaw purred, giving each of them an affectionate lick on the head before leading them outside.

Squirrelkit was almost trembling when she saw every cat looking at her. But then she straightened up. They were her Clanmates, for StarClan's sake, not ShadowClan! Why should be scared? She sat down next to her littermates, across Firestar, waiting for her turn.

"Cats of ThunderClan, we have assembled here today for one of my most favourite ceremonies. Three of our kits have reached their sixth moon, and are ready to become apprentices. Silverkit," he called, beckoning her forward. She padded slowly, looking nervous. Squirrelkit flicked her pelt with her tail encouragingly as she passed by.

"Dewbreeze told me that you wish to be her apprentice. Is that your wish?" Silverkit nodded. Dewbreeze stepped forward. "Then Silverkit, from this day onwards, until you receive your full medicine cat name, you will be known as Silverpaw. Cats of ThunderClan, your next medicine cat after me will be Silverpaw. I have chosen her because she is kind and intelligent. She will serve ThunderClan well as a medicine cat. Silverpaw, at half-moon you must travel to the Moonstone to be accepted by StarClan before the other medicine cats."

"Silverpaw! Silverpaw!" the Clan cheered. Silverpaw shyly padded after Dewbreeze and sat next to her.

"Squirrelkit!" Firestar called her. Squirrelkit almost jumped across the clearing, but then she remembered Oakclaw's words, and walked next to Firestar with dignity.

"Squirrelkit, from this day onwards, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Squirrelpaw. Lionfang, you have shown admirable courage and strength, and I hope you can pass these qualities and many more to Squirrelpaw as her mentor."

Lionfang! Squirrelpaw could have leaped with joy. Lionfang was huge and strong, but he was very funny and always made jokes. She padded to him and touched his nose with hers, delighted to see her excitement reflected in his eyes. She drew back and sat beside him as the Clan chanted her name. She studied her paws, but might as well have just leaped into the air, she was that excited. Then Firestar called Sparrowkit forward.

"Sparrowkit, from this day onwards, until you receive your full warrior name, you will be known as Sparrowpaw. Birdwing, you will be his mentor. I hope you will train him to be as loyal and skilled as you and pass down all you know to Sparrowpaw."

Sparrowpaw padded calmly to his new mentor, and they touched noses. Squirrelpaw could see that he was about to burst with pride and excitement. Squirrelpaw yowled his name along with her Clanmates.

As the Clan started to disperse, the other apprentices crowded around them to congratulate them.

"It's great that you'll be in the apprentice den now!" Grasspaw said happily.

"Yeah! We can train together!" Mousepaw, said, eyes sparkling.

"Squirrelpaw! Sparrowpaw! Come on, we're going to check out the territory, and make you smell more like the forest than the stuffy nursery," Lionfang called them, purring. Birdwing rolled her eyes and followed the apprentices through the gorse tunnel.

"Where are we going first?"

"To the borders and the beyond!" Lionfang joked.

"Quit it Lionfang," Birdwing said, but she flicked his ears with her tail to show she wasn't really annoyed. "We're going to see the ShadowClan border first, then WindClan, Fourtrees then RiverClan and back to camp."

Squirrelpaw nodded. There was so much to see! Suddenly, Birdwing stopped the patrol and motioned for them to stay back. She crouched down, fixing her gaze on ssome rustling leaves near the roots of an oak tree.

"Mouse," Lionfang whispered. Squirrelpaw watched Birdwing, recognizing the hunter's crouch as the light brown tabby crept forward. She stopped as the mouse darted from underneath the leaves, and leaped, landing square on the mouse's back. She killed it with a bite to the neck.

"That was awesome!" Sparrowaw mewed, joining his mentor. Squirrelpaw agreed. Birdwing invited them to share, and the four cats finished the mouse quickly. Squirrelpaw sat up, cleaning her whiskers.

Birdwing led them again at a fast trot. Soon, Squirrelpaw smelt a weird stench.

"What is that smell?" she asked, wrinkling her nose to block it out.

"Thunderpath," Lionfang muttered grimly. Squirrelpaw wondered why the jovial warrior was so serious, but then remembered that his mother, Sweetpelt, had died on it. Lionfang led them towards the Thunderpath until they could see it. It cut through the forest like a winding black river, its smell making it difficult to sense anything else.

"Beyond the Thunderpath is ShadowClan territory," Birdwing said. "Come on, let's see WindClan's borders."

They padded down a small trail, and ducked through a bramble bush. Finally Birdwing stopped. "This is Fourtrees," she announced. Pushing past her mentor, Squirrelpaw could see a huge clearing surrounded by four huge oak trees. There was a big rock too. _Where the leaders give their reports,_ Squirrelpaw guessed.

"Come on, I want to get back to camp by night-fall." Birdwing mewed, padding away from Fourtrees. Squirrelpaw ran after her, Sparrowpaw by her side, while Lionfang brought up the rear. They reached WindClan's border soon. Squirrelpaw stared at the barren land which made up WindClan's territory.

"Why would they want to live in such a place?" Squirrelpaw muttered. Her brother shrugged. Their mentors led them on, asking them to recite the warrior code. Squirrelpaw quickly listed them, one by one, Sparrowpaw adding the ones she forgot.

"Well done. And here we are, RiverClan's border," Lionfang said, waving his tail. Sparrowpaw scrunched up his nose in disgust. Squirrelpaw copied him, unable to stand the fishy scent.

"Back to camp now," Birdwing called, heading away.

Lionfang caught a thrush while going back. Squirrelpaw spotted a mouse and stalked it. She leaped, but missed, and the mouse scurried away straight into Sparrowpaw, and he snapped its neck, killing it. Both their mentors looked impressed.

"That was good team work," Lionfang mewed, blinking warmly.

"We did it together," Sparrowpaw mewed. Squirrelpaw purred. She let her brother carry the mouse, it was huge and plump. When they reached camp, Oakclaw was at the fresh-kill pile. He looked up, his eyes lighting as he saw his kits carrying prey on their first day.

"Congratulations," he purred. Sparrowpaw put the mouse down and glanced at Squirrelpaw. "We did it together," he mewed.

"I'm so proud of you," Oakclaw licked their heads. Lionfang gave them permission to eat, and Squirrelpaw took a small vole and sat down next to the tree stump near the apprentice's den to eat it. Shrewpaw and Grasspaw joined her.

"Where is Cherrypaw?" Squirrelpaw asked in between bites.

"I think she's training with Stonepaw and Pinepaw."

Grasspaw started chattering away as usual. Shrewpaw and Squirrelpaw had no choice but to listen, not able to get in even a word. Finally she stopped, and Shrewpaw asked Squirrelpaw about her first day as an apprentice.

"It was great! I saw all the borders and Fourtrees, and Sparrowpaw and I caught a mouse together."

Shrewpaw looked impressed, and Grasspaw purred. Squirrelpaw looked up as the gorse tunnel rustled, and the dusk patrol came in. Firestar ran forward to meet them.

"I'm sleepy," Squirrelpaw yawned. "I'll show you your nest," Shrewpaw offered. Squirrelpaw nodded and followed the gray tom inside. "Aren't you coming, Grasspaw?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"No, you go ahead. I'm waiting for my brothers," she called back.

Shrewpaw showed Squirrelpaw her nest. She curled up in the soft moss and closed her eyes.

A paw prodding her side woke her up. She blinked her eyes open and saw Pinepaw, his paw poised to poke her again. "I'm awake," she grumbled, sitting up. She washed herself quickly and padded out of the den. She saw Lionfang at the entrance of the gorse tunnel and joined him.

"What are we doing today?" she asked, sitting down to finish her grooming. "Training till sunhigh, and hunting patrol at dusk. After sunhigh, you can clean the elder's bedding."

"Whom are we training with?" she asked.

Lionfang waved his tail at Birdwing, Mistfall and Adderheart, who were walking towards them with their apprentices.

Lionfang turned around and led the way to the sandy hollow where the apprentices trained. Lionfang and Birdwing led her and Sparrowpaw to one side of the clearing, while the older apprentices trained in the other side.

"Okay," Birdwing announced, "We'll start with a basic move."

She showed them how to dart in and rake an enemy's side before running out of reach. Squirrelpaw and Sparrowpaw first tried it on imaginary opponents. After some time, Birdwing called for a halt and asked Squirrelpaw to try it on Lionfang.

Squirrelpaw waited, running the sequence in her mind. When Lionfang shifted his paws impatiently, Squirrelpaw raced to his side, clawed him and rolled under his belly, confusing him. She was on her paws in an instant and hared away, turning around. Lionfang still had a confused expression. Birdwing purred in amusement, nodding in approval.

"Great move, Squirrelpaw!" Adderheart called out. He and Mistfall had been watching. Mistfall blinked in agreement, her green eyes warm.

"Your turn," Lionfang flicked his tail at Sparrowpaw. The apprentice focussed on his mentor, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Suddenly he sprang; feinting one side before spinning around to get on Birdwing's other side. She turned around to meet him, but her apprentice was faster and raked her side and darted away.

"That was awesome!" Squirrelpaw called out. Sparrowpaw puffed out his chest in pride.

"Well done, both of you," Mistfall praised. They practiced a few more moves and headed back to camp.

Squirrelpaw chose a thrush for herself and quickly gulped it down. As she was going to the medicine den for fresh moss for the elder's bedding, Stonepaw joined her. Tallnight and Poppyshine were sharing tongues inside, while Redpelt was sunning himself outside the den.

Stonepaw showed Squirrelpaw how to check for clean moss and roll the dirty ones into balls. She copied him at first, but soon got the hang of it. While they were cleaning the den, Stonepaw begged for a story. Squirrelpaw pricked her ears.

"Okay, okay. How about the story of Sandclaw?" Tallnight croaked.

"Yes please! Have you heard it?" Stonepaw asked Squirrelpaw.

"I don't know everything. I just know that he was a ThunderClan traitor. He led twolegs to our camp to destroy Firestar, didn't he?"

Tallnight nodded. "Great StarClan, to think that once they were the best of friends!" Poppyshine exclaimed.

Squirrelpaw widened her eyes. She'd never known that!

"Really?" Stonepaw mewed in astonishment. Tallnight nodded.

"Firestar's warrior name was Firestorm. They were apprentices together. Sandclaw was a moon older than Firestar, but the leader made Firestar a warrior before Sandclaw. This made Sandclaw jealous, but he was still friends with our leader. Moons later, the deputy died in a battle. Everybody thought that Sandclaw was going to be the next deputy, but Firestorm was made deputy. Sandclaw still stayed silent though. Birchstar, the leader, took Sandclaw's apprentice, Lilypaw one day to asses, but she died somehow. Birchstar said that they were attacked by a fox, and indeed, he was also badly injured, but Sandclaw didn't believe it. He said his apprentice could tackle a whole pack of foxes alone, and that Birchstar killed Lilypaw and was injured by the apprentice. He said that the scratches on both of them looked like claw marks of cats, and swore revenge on the leader and asked for Firestorm's support. When Firestorm defended the leader, Sandclaw became angry and tried to attack both of them at once. Birchstar was badly injured and lost his last life that day. Firestorm banished Sandclaw, who asked if Firestorm felt no friendship towards him. Firestorm replied that he would never stay with those who betrayed their Clan."

"But he didn't betray the Clan, did he? If something like that happened to Sparrowpaw, even I would blame Birchstar!" Squirrelpaw said indignantly.

"But Birchstar had another motive to kill Lilypaw," Poppyshine continued. "Sandclaw's father, who had also turned traitor, had killed Birchstar's mother, and he was determined to make some cat pay. Firestar grieved for moons on end for Sandclaw. He said that he regretted banishing his best friend as further inspection of the bodies showed that they were cat claw marks. When Sandclaw led the twolegs to the camp, the warriors chased them off, and Sandclaw and Firestar were left in the camp."

"I was already an elder then," Tallnight cut in. "I saw it all. Firestar begged for Sandclaw's forgiveness, and said that he had been wrong to banish him. Sandclaw forgave him that day, but said that he wouldn't join the Clan again because he had a mate and kits of his own in another place. Firestar asked for them all to join, but Sandclaw said that he had already told his mate about Clan life, and she didn't like it. They made peace then, and Sandclaw left. Firestar hasn't heard from him yet," Tallnight finished.

"Wow," Squirrelpaw breathed. "Then he wasn't a traitor at all."

"No," Redpelt said, entering the den. "So now, you can finish the bedding soon, I hope."

 _Oops!_ Squirrelpaw lowered her head in embarrassment. She had completely forgotten about the bedding.

Quickly, she and Stonepaw finished their work and padded out. As she settled down near the tree stump with a vole, Petalpaw joined her. In between bites, she told the older apprentice about Sandclaw.

"Do you think he's still alive?" Squirrelpaw asked.

"He could be," Petalpaw replied thoughtfully.

"What if he just comes back?" Squirrelpaw asked excitedly, swishing her tail.

"Don't let your imagination run away." Squirrelpaw looked up to see Blackstripe standing there. "And you're in the dusk hunting patrol, as Lionfang told you." Squirrelpaw nodded. She quickly cleaned her whiskers and spied Lionfang heading for the gorse tunnel. She raced over to him just as Pebblepelt and Whitefern trotted over. Glancing at the sky, she noticed it was darkening. A storm was going to break.


	5. Chapter 5

**This is chapter 5!**

 **Guest- thanks for reviewing! I'm sorry it's sort of late, though. Please keep reviewing!**

"Squirrelpaw, you'll be coming with us for the gathering," Lionfang told her as they returned from a successful hunting patrol.

"Yes!" she said, her excited mew muffled by the squirrel and mouse she was carrying. It would be her first gathering. It had been half a moon since she was apprenticed. She quickly deposited her prey at the fresh-kill pile and looked around to find her littermates.

She found Silverpaw and Sparrowpaw coming out of the medicine den. She hurried to meet them, her green eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I'm going to the gathering today!" she announced. "Us too!" Sparrowpaw said excitedly. "I can't wait!" Silverpaw mewed.

Squirrelpaw looked around. She wondered which of the other apprentices were going with them. As she headed to the tree stump with her littermates, Leafkit, Robinkit and Nightkit bounced up to them.

"Are you going to the gathering?" Nightkit asked eagerly. Squirrelpaw nodded. "Tell us what happens when you get back please," Leafkit begged. Sparrowpaw agreed. Robinkit bushed out his fur. "You're going to meet ShadowClan!" He said, eyes wide. The thought of it sent a chill down Squirrelpaw's back. She might meet her mother's murderer in the gathering! She decided to keep a look out for the big black and white tom. They remained silent. The kits were going to ask something when Larkshine hurried over, scolding her kits for bothering them. Squirrelpaw forced a purr. "It's okay," she said.

"Hey Squirrelpaw! Are you going to the gathering?" Cherrypaw asked bounding over. She looked at her and her littermates with a questioning glance. Squirrelpaw and her littermates nodded. "Great! I'm going too!" the tortoiseshell and white she-cat gave an excited bounce. "Mousepaw's coming. The others are staying back. I think Pinepaw's also coming, I'm not sure." Cherrypaw sat down.

Squirrelpaw shrugged. It was nearly sun-high now. Lionfang padded over and ordered them all to sleep. She glanced back at Silverpaw, who was going back to her den, and followed her brother and her denmate into the den. She settled down in her nest and slept.

She woke up when Mousepaw poked her. "It's time," he whispered and went away. Squirrelpaw stretched and started grooming herself. She wanted to look the best for the gathering. Looking around, she saw that both Sparrowpaw and Cherrypaw had woken up and were grooming themselves too. Pinepaw's nest was empty.

She went to the clearing. Firestar was there, with Blackstripe and Sunfur. Lionfang, Birdwing, Darkfire, Pinepaw and Mousepaw were gathered around them. As she joined them, Adderheart, Oakclaw and Whitefern appeared from the warriors den. Redpelt and Poppyshine padded stiffly from the elder's den. Dewbreeze followed by her apprentice sat beside the elders.

Firestar flicked his tail and led the way out of the gorse tunnel. Squirrelpaw remained by Silverpaw's side as they followed the path to Fourtrees.

Squirrelpaw was so caught up in her excitement that she crashed into Whitefern's rump. "Sorry!" she apologized, realizing that Firestar had halted. Looking around, she saw that they were near Fourtrees.

She sniffed the air. The fishy tang of RiverClan hit her. ShadowClan and WindClan were yet to arrive. Lifting his tail, Firestar sped down the slope. Squirrelpaw hared after her Clanmates, brushing Silverpaw's pelt. As they reached, Squirrelpaw stopped and stared in astonishment at the size of the four oak trees. The Great Rock stood tall in the middle, planted firmly on the ground.

"Squirrelpaw," Lionfang murmured. She looked up. "Remember, this is a Gathering. You be friendly, but don't disclose anything about our Clan. The others might find it too tempting to join us," he purred, but then became serious. "Those you think are friends today may become enemies tomorrow. Remember that."

Squirrelpaw nodded. Her mentor flicked her ear with her tail before disappearing into a mass of warriors milling around. Squirrelpaw looked around. Cherrypaw joined her. "Come on, I'll take you to some apprentices."

Squirrelpaw followed her denmate to where a white she-cat sat with a massive golden tom. Cherrypaw nodded to them.

"Hi Frostpaw, Reedpaw," she said. "This is Squirrelpaw. She was apprenticed this moon."

"Hi," Squirrelpaw said shyly. Sparrowpaw skidded to a halt beside them. The RiverClan apprentices looked a little taken aback by his sudden appearance.

"This is Sparrowpaw, my brother." Squirrelpaw ran her tail along his flank. "It isn't hard to tell," Reedpaw sniffed. "Who're you?" Sparrowpaw asked. "I'm Reedpaw. This is Frostpaw, my sister."

Squirrelpaw saw that they both had deep blue eyes.

"Who's that?" Frostpaw asked, pointing at Silverpaw with her ears. The medicine cat apprentice was following her mentor towards the RiverClan medicine cat.

"That's Silverpaw, our sister." Sparrowpaw puffed out his chest with pride. Reedpaw looked even more disdainful. Frostpaw suddenly sat up straight, her nose twitching. "WindClan!" she announced.

Squirrelpaw turned around to see. Cinderstar was leading her Clan. Squirrelpaw recognized the WindClan leader from elder's tales, due to the long scar which started from her ear and ran down her shoulder, all the way to her paw. A rogue had done that, the elders said, and that rogue could never boast of it to anyone, since he had been silenced forever. Squirrelpaw shuddered.

A few WindClan apprentices joined them.

"Hello, Gorsepaw!" Cherrypaw called. "Heatherpaw, you've grown! Harepaw, you're looking really fat. Don't you do any work?"

A brown tom, a light brown tabby she-cat and a brown and cream tabby tom joined them. The brown and cream tom mewed indignantly, "I work just as much as the others!"

 _That must be Harepaw,_ Squirrelpaw thought. "Meet Squirrelpaw and Sparrowpaw, ThunderClan's new apprentices," Cherrypaw announced.

"I'm Gorsepaw," the brown tom introduced himself, "And I'm Heatherpaw," the light brown tabby said.

"You look like Mudear," Sparrowpaw commented to Heatherpaw, glancing at the WindClan deputy.

"Yeah. He's our father," Heatherpaw said. "The best in all the Clans!" Harepaw declared.

Frostpaw cuffed the young tom's ears. He glared at her, but then broke into a purr.

"ShadowClan's late," Reedpaw muttered. As he said it, ShadowClan's stench hit them. They looked up to see Owlstar's dark stocky frame outlined in the moonlight. Squirrelpaw growled, fluffing out her fur.

"Hey, are you okay?" Squirrelpaw looked up to see Harepaw blinking at her in concern. She looked down and saw the grass near her paws was torn. "I'm fine."

"Remember the truce," Cherrypaw hissed in her ear.

"It was your mother, wasn't it?" Heatherpaw suddenly asked. The other apprentices looked at her. "The one Patchclaw killed."

"None of your business," Sparrowpaw snapped, and led Squirrelpaw towards the ThunderClan warriors. They settled beside Darkfire and Adderheart. The four leaders jumped onto the Great Rock.

"RiverClan has been thriving. Prey is running well and we have two new warriors- Troutleap and Featherpelt." Pikestar sat down as the Clans called the new warrior's names. Squirrelpaw saw them sitting with pride. Troutleap was a light brown tabby tom, and Featherpelt was a gray tabby she-cat.

"Newleaf has blessed WindClan well, for we have a new litter born to Cloudfur." Cinderstar sat down as yowls of congratulations filled the clearing. Firestar stood up.

"Prey is running well in the forest this new leaf. We have three new apprentices in ThunderClan- Sparrowpaw and Squirrelpaw are apprenticed to Birdwing and Lionfang, while Silverpaw is training to be a medicine cat."

The other clans called their names. Squirrelpaw puffed out her chest with pride, fighting the urge to look at her paws. Owlstar stood up before the cheers had died away.

"Congratulations, Firestar," he mewed icily. "Maybe next time, you won't lose to us as easily as last time." Gasps and murmurs rose from ThunderClan.

"Maybe next time, if you don't sneak around like foxes and kill queens and hurt innocent kits, you won't have anything to gloat about!" Blackstripe spat.

Owlstar held his head high, undaunted. "Then next time, am I supposed to send a messenger telling you that I will attack?" Sneering, the ShadowClan leader jumped down and signalled to his warriors to leave. Squirrelpaw felt sick inside. What sort of a leader was he?

She felt dizzy, and stumbled after the ThunderClan warriors dimly, she was aware of Oakclaw pressing against her to support her.

"Come on. Let's get back to camp." Squirrelpaw let her father lead her away. She spotted Harepaw looking at her, and waved her tail in farewell. As she headed out of the clearing, Sparrowpaw and Silverpaw joined her and they entered their territory together. she knew for sure that Owlstar would attack again, and consequences might be worse than before. _Oh, StarClan, why did you let him become leader?_


	6. Chapter 6

Squirrelpaw padded out of the camp to where Lionfang, Bramblefoot and Shrewpaw were waiting. It had been two sunrises since the gathering, and Owlstar's threat still loomed dangerously over ThunderClan. Shaking her head to clear the memory, she tried to focus on the task given to her. She was supposed to be helping the older apprentice in his final assessment. As she settled down next to her mentor, basking in the newleaf sun, Bramblefoot stood up.

"Shrewpaw, Squirrelpaw will be helping you in the last part of your assessment. You will organize yourselves and tell her what to do. Is that clear?" Shrewpaw nodded.

"So, what are you going to catch?" Lionfang prompted. After a moment, Shrewpaw decided to catch a squirrel by the Great Sycamore. He led her away, starting to run as they were out of sight of their mentors. He halted when they reached the Great Sycamore.

"Okay. There isn't any squirrel on the ground," Shrewpaw observed. "We'll probably have to climb." Squirrelpaw saw his tail bush up in excitement. He turned to her. "See that squirrel up there? I'll climb up and chase it to you. You stay there," he signalled with his tail, "and wait."

She nodded and crept away, as silent as she could be. Once had positioned herself, she nodded to Shrewpaw. He stalked up to the tree and climbed stealthily until he was a branch higher than the oblivious squirrel. He opened his mouth and let out a yowl. The startled squirrel jumped off the branch in a huge leap, right where Squirrelpaw was waiting. She bit it, and it lay limp and lifeless, near her paws. She looked up at Shrewpaw, still on his branch, jubilant. Her eyes widened. He was balancing on a dangerously thin branch, which could break at any time. Sure enough, a loud crack was heard and the branch broke.

"Shrewpaw, look out!" She screeched. He leaped off, but his hind paw slipped, and he fell to the ground, landing awkwardly on one side. He let out a moan of pain.

"Shrewpaw!" A frond of fern quivered and Bramblefoot exploded out. He skidded to an abrupt stop near his apprentice. Lionfang followed.

"Squirrelpaw, go back to camp and tell Dewbreeze. We'll carry him," Lionfang ordered. Shooting a last worried look at her injured denmate, Squirrelpaw picked up the prey and hared back to camp, as fast as her long legs would carry her. She burst through the tunnel. The cats clustered around the fresh-kill pile looked up, startled. Squirrelpaw flung the squirrel onto the pile and raced to the medicine cat den. She almost collided with her sister, who was just coming out.

"Squirrelpaw, what happened?"

"Shrewpaw fell of the tree during the assessment. He was trying to catch the squirrel but the branch broke and I think he hurt his shoulder," she said in one breath.

"What?" a shocked screech sounded behind them. It was Birdwing. The pale brown tabby was Shrewpaw's mother, Squirrelpaw remembered. Blackstripe looked just as horrified as his mate.

Lionfang and Bramblefoot emerged, carrying an almost unconscious Shrewpaw. Birdwing and Blackstripe ran to meet their kit. Dewbreeze emerged from the den. She snapped at the cats gathered there to go away, and ordered Lionfang and Bramblefoot to get Shrewpaw inside. Squirrelpaw padded to the fresh-kill pile and selected a scrawny mouse. She bit into it half-heartedly. Grasspaw and Stonepaw joined her.

"What happened? I heard Shrewpaw fell into a hole and injured his leg!" Stonepaw said, eyes wide.

"No!" Squirrelpaw snapped. "He fell off a tree. I think his shoulder is wrenched or something."

"How did he fall off?" Grasspaw asked. Squirrelpaw related the events again and took a small bite from her food. The warriors resumed their duties. Only Blackstripe, Birdwing and Bramblefoot waited by the entrance to the medicine den. After a long time, Dewbreeze emerged from the entrance. Blackstripe immediately stood up.

Dewbreeze sighed. "His shoulder bone is dislocated. It takes a long time to heal. He won't be a warrior for anytime soon."

"Can we see him?" Birdwing asked faintly. Dewbreeze nodded, and the three cats rushed into the den. Squirrelpaw saw her sister coming out and went to meet her. Silverpaw looked so tired that Squirrelpaw felt a rush of pity for her sister.

"Wait here," she ordered and fetched a mouse for the medicine cat apprentice. Silverpaw ate in silence. Squirrelpaw pressed against her sister. Oakclaw suddenly came through the gorse tunnel. He looked around wildly, then spotting his kits, joined them.

"Are you okay? I just heard what happened to Shrewpaw. Nothing happened to you, right?" he demanded. Squirrelpaw purred and assured her father that she was fine.

The deputy emerged from the tunnel, his tail trailing the ground. Firestar padded alongside him, talking quietly.

"Squirrelpaw!" She looked up to see Lionfang padding towards her. "Did you take some fresh-kill to the nursery?" Shaking her head, she got up and pulled the squirrel and a rabbit from the top of the pile and headed to the nursery. As she entered, Nightkit and Robinkit leaped on her back, overbalancing her, while Leafkit grabbed her tail.

"Leafkit, stop that! Nightkit, Robinkit, get down at once!" Larkshine scolded sharply. Her kits jumped down, but immediately started chasing each other. Purring in amusement, Squirrelpaw set down the prey and offered to play with them. The kits let out shrieks of happiness and raced each other outside.

"Badger ride!" Robinkit demanded. Squirrelpaw was surprised. The young kit had never been bossy or demanded anything. She shrugged and crouched down. Immediately, all three tried to get on her back.

"Hey! I can take only one at a time!" she protested. "Nightkit, why don't you ride on my back?" Sparrowpaw's voice said. Looking up, she saw her brother walking towards them from the gorse tunnel. Mousepaw followed.

"But who will take me?" Leafkit wailed. "I will, don't worry," Mousepaw mewed, crouching down. The three kits got on the apprentices' back and held on tight. Squirrelpaw could feel Robinkit's claws piercing her fur. She followed her brother around the camp, remembering the time her father had taken them on badger rides. Squirrelpaw's back started aching. Robinkit was heavy! She wished she'd taken Nightkit or Leafkit, both were small and light, like their mother. Robinkit was like his father, big and sturdy.

She let Robinkit down near the nursery. Mousepaw and Sparrowpaw did the same. They started protesting until Sparrowpaw suggested having a race. The kits started running before the apprentices, and they played along, letting the kits win every time.

"Sparrowpaw, come on. Battle training. You too, Squirrelpaw," Rainclaw called. Birdwing had asked him to take over Sparrowpaw's training until Shrewpaw was better. Squirrelpaw and Sparrowpaw sat by Rainclaw's side as they waited for Lionfang. He finished the blackbird he had been eating and followed them out of the camp.

"Did you get that move?" Lionfang looked over his shoulder at his apprentice. They had been training till sunset, and were now heading back to camp. Squirrelpaw nodded. She was bone-tired after the session. Rainclaw was talking to her brother, who seemed to be able to run forever.

When they reached camp, she met Petalpaw and Stonepaw. They were near the fresh-kill pile.

"Hey, Squirrelpaw! Want to share a mouse?" Stonepaw called her over. Sparrowpaw trotted by her side as she settled down next to her denmates.

"I can't wait to be a warrior!" Stonepaw mewed in between bites. "I was apprenticed soon after Shrewpaw, so my warrior apprentice should be anytime soon!" Sparrowpaw purred. "Your first part will probably be to wash your pelt. You stink! Where have you been?"

"I fell into a pile of fox dung. I washed myself in the stream, but it didn't go yet," he muttered sheepishly. "You better go wash again, or Grasspaw will never let you inside the den." Petalpaw let out a _mrrow_ of laughter. Stonepaw hurriedly finished his mouse and ran out of the camp.

"Stonepaw! Where are you going alone? Hasn't Firestar ordered that no apprentice should leave camp alone?" Thrushtail said sharply.

Casting an embarrassed glance at the other apprentices, Stonepaw mewed that he had to wash his fur. Thrushtail followed the apprentice outside, muttering about disobedient apprentices and that he would claw his ears off if the apprentice didn't listen next time.

Purring, Squirrelpaw finished her mouse quickly and began to wash. Petalpaw started to do the same, but wrinkled her nose.

"What's wrong?" Sparrowpaw asked. "Stupid Stonepaw. Now I've got fox dung stench on my fur!" she licked fiercely at the side where Stonepaw had been sitting.

"I'm going to see how Shrewpaw is," Squirrelpaw announced. Petalpaw nodded. "I'll come with you." Sparrowpaw said that he was going to sleep and disappeared into the apprentice's den. Squirrelpaw followed Petalpaw to the medicine den. They entered and found Shrewpaw sleeping.

Dewbreeze poked her head out from a cleft. "Visit tomorrow," she mewed briskly. "He's still tired and sleeping. Go now, go sleep!"

The two apprentices ducked out of the den and went to their own. Squirrelpaw curled up in her nest, feeling the nest of Shrewpaw uncomfortably empty. She was lulled by Pinepaw's snores and Cherrypaw's occasional mutters.

She dreamt that she was standing on top of the Great Sycamore. Lightning flashed everywhere, and the roaring of the thunder was loud. But she was not afraid. It was very dark, yet she could see clearly. The few stars which were visible through the clouds fell to the ground. She gasped in shock. Then it became pitch black, but she could hear somecat saying something. She listened closely and heard it.

"The sky will grow dark, and stars will fall. Three will rise to power, and will destroy and save the Clan."

Her eyes widened. _What's going on? Was the voice suggesting that she was going to destroy her beloved Clan? And what was the three?_ She shook her head. What did it mean? The voice faded, and she heard birdsong instead. She opened her eyes to find her in her nest. Yet she felt cold and wet, as if she had been in a storm.

Was it a prophecy from StarClan?


	7. Chapter 7

"Squirrelpaw! Hunting patrol!"

Pinepaw's insistent mew woke Squirrelpaw. She sat up and stretched. Satisfied, Pinepaw disappeared from the apprentice den, and Squirrelpaw followed. Lionfang and Blackstripe were waiting for them.

As she padded out of the gorse tunnel, she remembered Shrewpaw's accident. It had been a few sunrises ago. The Clan was still alert for any sign of invasion, and Firestar had ordered night patrols and a permanent guard at the ShadowClan border.

So far, ShadowClan had been quiet, but Squirrelpaw knew that they were waiting for the right moment to attack. Battle training had increased, with even the warriors joining in now.

A whiff of vole scent jolted Squirrelpaw back. Looking around, she spotted it and dropped into the hunter's crouch. Creeping forward stealthily, she waited until it was looking the other side and leaped, landing squarely on the vole. Before it could shriek, she bent down and nipped its neck, killing it.

She carried it back to the rest of the patrol. Lionfang gave her an approving nod. Blackstripe took Pinepaw away. A thrush's call alerted them, and Lionfang signalled with his tail for her to go round to the back of the thrush. She crouched down on the other side. She could see it clearly now. It was sitting on the ground a fox length away, pulling a worm out of the ground. As it continued with the struggle, Lionfang leaped. He gave it the killing bite, and it hung, limp in his jaws.

Squirrelpaw padded to her mentor. "We'll catch one more, and head back to camp. Blackstripe told me not to wait for him," Lionfag said, burying his prey.

They caught a plump pigeon soon, and they dug up their prey and carried it back to camp. They had just entered the gorse tunnel when a fat drop of water fell on Squirrelpaw's head. Flicking her ears crossly, she looked up. Storm clouds had gathered, and the sky was completely gray. She left her prey on the fresh-kill pile and hurried to the apprentice den. The elders were flicking their tails crossly as they went inside their den.

She glanced around the camp. Something wasn't right. As she thought this, a battle cry split the air, and a horde of cats pushed through the gorse tunnel, their reek staining the air. _ShadowClan!_

Squirrelpaw hurried out. The storm was raging, water pouring down.

"ThunderClan, invaders!" Firestar yowled, running out of Highrock. Warriors streamed out of their den. Squirrelpaw joined them, Grasspaw behind her. They took their positions by the warriors' side.

"Good luck," Lionfang murmured, and jumped on a tabby. Squirrelpaw looked around, searching. _There!_ She nodded to Grasspaw, and the two ran at the tom Squirrelpaw had singled out. He let out a screech of surprise.

"Remember me?" Squirrelpaw hissed in his ear as she raked her claws over his face. His amber eyes widened when he saw her.

"You! You were just a kit!"

"I'm an apprentice now. Don't you remember the gathering?"

The black and white tom swiped at her, but she ducked. She was fuelled by a rage that made her faster and stronger than ever. The black and white tom seemed scared, flattening his ears.

"I didn't mean to kill her! It was a mistake!" he stammered. "Then ask her forgiveness in StarClan, if you get there, fleabag!" she spat, ready to lunge in and tear out his throat.

Suddenly teeth in her scruff pulled her back. She wriggled, trying to get free, but the grip was too firm. She calmed down, and Lionfang let her down.

"Real warriors do not kill to know they've won. Always remember the warrior code." She nodded and looked down at the tom, who had made no move to escape.

"You're Patchclaw, aren't you?" she snarled. He nodded eyes still wide. "That's a name I will never forget for as long as I live!" she flicked her ears towards the entrance, and he got to his paws and ran away, Grasspaw chasing him. She turned around, managing to just leap away as a tortoiseshell she-cat jumped on her. She slashed at Squirrelpaw's face before she could retaliate. Squirrelpaw ignored the blood on her face and jumped out of range of the warrior's claws. The she-cat attacked again, but misjudged and got entangled in the brambles of the warrior's den. As she struggled to get free, Squirrelpaw rained blows on her hindquarters. The she-cat yelped in pain.

She finally struggled free and ran for the gorse tunnel. Squirrelpaw fell in step with Mousepaw and they battled against a huge scarred speckled gray tom. They defeated him, and he also raced for the tunnel, yelping with pain. All around, ThunderClan defeated ShadowClan again. They chased the intruders out of camp.

"Adderheart, take Brightsong, Thrushtail, Drizzlefur and Mousepaw and drive them to the border," Firestar commanded.

"I'll go with them," Sparrowpaw said, standing by Oakclaw's side. Firestar gave his permission and both of them joined the patrol.

Squirrelpaw lay down where she was. She saw Shrewpaw poke his head out of the medicine den. Silverpaw and Dewbreeze pushed past him and ran around everyone, checking wounds, and sending the worst ones inside. Firestar was talking to Blackstripe.

Silverpaw hurried over to her. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "I'm fine. Just a few scratches," she sighed. "There's a lot of blood on your face. You'd better come inside." Squirrelpaw stood up. She suddenly felt like an elder. She went inside the medicine den and lay in one of the nests. Apart from her, Stormclaw, Sunfur and Cherrypaw were in the den. Shrewpaw was limping around, giving wet moss to all of them. Squirrelpaw washed her face, and discovered that the scratch was above her left eye, and ran down to her muzzle.

"That's a nasty scratch," Shrewpaw commented, laying down some moss near her. "It'll heal," she muttered. Silverpaw and Dewbreeze came in and started treating them. Silverpaw put a poultice on Squirrelpaw's face, and it was all she could do to not scream in pain.

Finally, her sister gave her a poppy seed, and she drifted to sleep.

When she woke up, her scratches didn't hurt so much. Standing up, she stretched. She padded out into the camp. It was dusk. Firestar was talking to Stormclaw, Adderheart, Thrushtail and Larkshine.

Suddenly Firestar jumped onto the Highrock and called a Clan meeting. Every cat looked at the leader curiously.

"ShadowClan attacked us unjustly, but we defeated them. Three of our apprentices fought very bravely, and I have decided to make them warriors. Stonepaw, Grasspaw, Mousepaw, stand forward!"

The three apprentices looked at each other in surprise and stood forward. Mistfall and Rainclaw, their parents, stood by them proudly. Their mentors nodded approvingly.

"I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look own on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand your noble code and I commend her to you as a warrior in return. Grasspaw, Mousepaw, Stonepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend the Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," the three of them said together.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Grasspaw, from this moment onwards, you will be known as Grassfur. StarClan honours your bravery and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a warrior of ThunderClan." He placed his muzzle on the gray she-cat's head, and she licked his shoulder respectfully in return, and went to sit by Stormclaw's side.

"Stonepaw, from this moment onwards, you will be known as Stonefrost. StarClan honours your courage and determination, and we welcome you as a warrior of ThunderClan."

"Mousepaw, from this moment onwards, you will be known as Mouseshadow. StarClan honors your intelligence and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

"Grassfur! Stonefrost! Mouseshadow! Grassfur! Stonefrost! Mouseshadow!" The Clan cheered. Squirrelpaw felt pride in her chest as she watched her former denmates.

"As Clan tradition, you will sit in silent vigil until dawn," Firestar said, and ended the meeting.

The three new warriors held their heads high as they joined Mistfall, Rainclaw and their mentors. Squirrelpaw joined them excitedly, Sparrowpaw on her tail. Grassfur started talking non-stop, as if she wanted to make up for the time she wouldn't be able to talk during the vigil. The whole Clan feasted for their victory, and for the three new warriors.

As night fell, Squirrelpaw went back to the nursery. Pinepaw and Petalpaw were already asleep. She settled down in her nest, the den feeling much bigger without the former apprentices.

The next morning, she went on the border patrol. As they reached the ShadowClan border, Lionfang stopped abruptly.

"What is it?" Sunfur asked. She sniffed the air. There was a strange scent in the air. Squirrelpaw tensed, braced for intruders. Next to her, she heard Thrushtail growl. A bramble bush nearby trembled and a pale ginger tom hopped out. Lionfang's eyes widened.

"Sandclaw?!"

Squirrelpaw gasped. This was Sandclaw, Firestar's best friend? She studied the tom closely. He was strong and sturdy, but not as big as she expected.

"Lionfang!" Sandclaw mewed warmly, evidently relieved that he had run into a friend.

"What's going on, Sandclaw?" Sunfur asked with a slight growl.

"Sunpaw! No, you'd be a warrior by now," The pale ginger tom sighed.

"My name is Sunfur. What are you doing here?"

"I need to see Firestar. Please, it's urgent," Sandclaw pleaded. "You smell funny," Squirrelpaw mewed, wrinkling her nose. He turned his piercing amber eyes on her.

"And who are you?" he asked. "You can get to know the whole Clan later. Squirrelpaw, take him to Firestar. We have to finish the patrol," Lionfang ordered.

"He won't kill me, right?" Squirrelpaw asked. She knew he wasn't dangerous, but something about him made her feel scared. Lionfang almost purred, shook his head no, and disappeared into the undergrowth. Squirrelpaw stared at the new arrival, then telling him to follow her, led him to the camp.

On the way, he stayed silent. As they entered camp, Blackstripe was calling for a hunting patrol. He turned around when he heard cats, and his eyes widened. Squirrelpaw turned around, hissing in annoyance when she saw him still at the entrance.

"Get in!" she snapped, and he followed her hurriedly.

"Sandclaw?" Blackstripe asked, amazement in his voice. Stonefrost poked his head out of the warrior's den. Oakclaw hurried to Squirrelpaw's side, glancing at the ginger tom in distrust. Tallnight, Redpelt and Poppyshine gaped at the entrance to the elder's den. Firestar shot out of the Highrock, racing towards his friend. They touched noses, Firestar purring.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I need help, Firestar. My family is threatened by twolegs. I lost two kits already. Please, Firestar. Help me for the ThunderClan blood in my body and theirs." Sandclaw was actually begging. Firestar looked taken aback.

"You didn't care about the kits who could have been lost when you led the twolegs here!" Bramblefoot accused. Sandclaw flattened his ears in shame. Squirrelpaw looked around. Redpelt and Stormclaw were nodding, clearly agreeing with Bramblefoot.

"Please, Firestar," Sandclaw turned back to the leader.

"I'm sorry Sandclaw. As much as I want to help you, I must see to the needs of my Clan too. I will have a meeting with my senior warriors though, don't worry."

Sandclaw let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the ground.

"Squirrelpaw, Pinepaw, make a new nest wherever Sandclaw wants it," Firestar ordered. Looking at his old friend, he added, "We are busy at the moment. ShadowClan has been bothering us for some time now, and I can't help you until I have dealt with them." Sandclaw nodded, and agreed to sleep in the apprentice's den for the moment. Squirrelpaw led her denmate and the new arrival to the apprentice den, and as Sandclaw waited outside, they added a new nest in the side.

"You look a lot like Firestar," Sandclaw commented to Pinepaw as he entered the den. "He's my father, and Sunfur is my mother." Pinepaw continued fixing the nest. "You have the eyes of Dawnpaw. Where is she?" Sandclaw asked, turning to Squirrelpaw. She looked away. "A ShadowClan warrior killed Dawncloud," she whispered. Grief filled Sandclaw's amber eyes.

"Who's your father?" he asked Squirrelpaw suddenly. "Oakclaw." She replied curtly. He nodded and settled down in his nest.

"If you're hungry," Squirrelpaw started, but Pinepaw cut her off. "The fresh-kill pile is empty. Blackstripe was about to send a hunting patrol, and they've probably left without me." Squirrelpaw swallowed a purr of amusement and walked out of the den. Mouseshadow and Stonefrost crossed the clearing to meet her.

"How is Sandclaw? Is he scary?" Stonefrost asked, voice quivering with excitement.

"No, he's not. He's as harmless as a mouse," she said. A purr made her look behind her. Oakclaw was standing there, eyes filled with amusement. "You've never seen the way he fights. How can you tell he's harmless?"

Squirrelpaw shrugged. She turned when Drizzlefur called her for a patrol.

"Blackstripe asked me to take you out on a hunting patrol." Squirrelpaw nodded. They waited as Iceclaw joined them, and set out. A light breeze accompanied them as they exited the camp.


	8. Chapter 8

Squirrelpaw raced into camp, beating Petalpaw by a mouse length. Sparrowpaw and Cherrypaw skidded to a stop behind them, panting. Behind them, their mentors followed, padding calmly into the camp.

"That was a great race!" Sparrowpaw collapsed on the ground. Squirrelpaw nodded. "We want to race too!" Leafkit cried, running out of the nursery, her littermates on her tail. Birdwing and Larkshine followed them out. Birdwing had moved into the nursery, and her kits were due very soon. It had been half a moon since Sandclaw had appeared, and so far, ThunderClan had won against another ShadowClan attack.

Shrewpaw limped out to the clearing. His shoulder had still not healed, and he was still stuck in the medicine den. The apprentice joined them by the apprentice's den.

"Aren't you hungry?" he looked at the fresh-kill pile wistfully. "Go get your own prey, you badger!" Petalpaw lay on her side and closed her eyes. Shrewpaw glared at her, but she pretended not to notice.

"I'm hungry too," Cherrypaw announced. "When are you _not_ hungry?" Sparrowpaw grumbled. The tortoiseshell and white she-cat stood up and accompanied Shrewpaw to the fresh-kill pile. Squirrelpaw trotted after them, selecting a blackbird for herself. They sat together and gulped down their prey. The three kits jumped around them, chasing each other.

Sandclaw emerged from the gorse tunnel. He had been settling well into clan life. Thrushtail, Mouseshadow and Brightsong padded behind him. Sandclaw went straight to Firestar's den to report, while the rest of the patrol vanished into the warrior's den.

Suddenly, the gorse tunnel rustled, and Flamepelt, Sunfur and Grassfur shot out. Squirrelpaw was on her paws in an instant. Shrepaw struggled up too, supported by Cherrypaw.

"Twolegs!" Flamepelt gasped out. "They've started a fire near the camp! And there is a cat with three kits stuck in the middle!"

Sandclaw leaped to his paws. "My kits! Violet!" he yowled. Firestar appeared on the High rock. "Blackstripe, Sandclaw, Whitefern, Iceclaw, Lionfang, Bramblefoot, Squirrelpaw, Sparrowpaw, Petalpaw, Mistfall and Mouseshadow, come with me. Grassfur will lead the way. The rest of you, evacuate the camp! Now! Adderheart, you're in charge till we get back. Take them to sunningrocks." Larkshine grabbed Leafkit in her jaws as she tried to herd her kits to the entrance. Flamepelt picked up Nightkit, and led Robinkit with his tail. Drizzlefur supported Birdwing, while Cherrypaw bundled Shrewpaw to the gorse tunnel. By then the first flames started licking the trees surrounding the camp. Smoke filled the air.

"Pebblepelt!" Redpelt cried feebly as he spotted the yellow tom. Pebblepelt hurried to help the elders, Brightsong and Stonefrost at his side. As the Clan made it out of the now smouldering camp, Squirrelpaw ran after Firestar as he led his patrol out, Grassfur right next to him. She showed the way to where the flames licked the tips of the trees. A plaintive mew reached them.

"My kits! Violet, we're coming!" Sandclaw yowled over the crackling of flames. The mewing grew louder as they drew closer. Finally, Squirrelpaw could see a frightened she-cat and three tiny figures close around her. She turned as she heard Sandclaw's voice.

"Sandclaw! Help us!" Firestar turned his brilliant green gaze on his warriors. "Sandclaw and the apprentices can get them out. The apprentices are small enough to fit through the flames. The rest of us will stand guard here. Whitefern, you are small. You can go too," he added. The white she-cat nodded. Iceclaw touched his littermate's ear briefly before taking his position.

Sandclaw leaped through the wall of fire, and landed next to his mate. Squirrelpaw followed, with her brother and Petalpaw. Whitefern landed beside them. The kits mewled with fear. The black queen tried to comfort them. "Hush now, little ones. Your father has come with help. Don't worry, we'll be safe."

A dark brown kit looked up with wide eyes. "Really?" Violet licked her head. "Yes, Scarlet, we'll be safe. Now go with these warriors. I'll be right behind you." The kits took hesitant steps towards the apprentices. A black kit pressed herself to Squirrelpaw's side. She looked down, surprised at the shivering shape.

"What's your name, little one?" she asked kindly, wrapping her tail around the tiny kit. "I'm Olive," she whispered, looking up with scared green eyes.

"Okay, Olive. I'm going to carry you, okay? We will have to jump through, but don't worry, nothing will happen." The kit nodded. Squirrelpaw looked up. Sparrowpaw was with Scarlet, while Petalpaw was carrying a ginger kit. She braced herself, and leaped through the fire. A thud on the other side. Olive pressed herself deeper into Squirrelpaw's fur.

"I'm okay!" Petalpaw's voice came through. They heard her pawsteps fading away. Sparrowpaw crouched down, and leaped, making it through. Scarlet squealed, but they made it safely. Suddenly the flames intensified. Olive whimpered. Squirrelpaw gazed at the flames. Only a warrior could make it through, not an apprentice, and Violet needed both the warrior's help.

"You go," Squirrelpaw told Sandclaw and Whitefern. "We'll be fine. I'll find another way." Sandclaw looked at her worriedly for a moment, then beckoned for Whitefern and Violet to join him. Jumping, they vanished behind the screen of fire.

Squirrelpaw looked around desperately, searching for a way through.

"Squirrelpaw! Over here!" she whirled around. She recognized the voice. It was Shrewpaw! _What in the name of StarClan is_ he _doing here?_ Taking a breath, she led Olive to where the voice came from.

"Jump, Squirrelpaw!"

"I can't! The flames are too high!" a curse, and suddenly, Shrewpaw landed beside her. Olive backed away and screwed her eyes shut.

"Olive! Come on, it's okay! He's a friend!" Squirrelpaw called. "Something more than a friend, perhaps?" he growled, gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder. Squirrelpaw stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"Come on; let's get that kit out of here." "But your shoulder!" she protested. "There's nothing we can do about it now. We jump, or we die." Squirrelpaw nodded. She pulled the black kit close and held her scruff in her teeth. Olive lay limp in her jaws, as weightless as a sparrow.

"Okay, come on." Laying his tail on her shoulders, he squared his shoulders, half leaning on her. Squirrelpaw dug her back legs into the ground, bracing herself. "Now!" Shrewpaw yowled, and they jumped together. Squirrelpaw felt the heat against her stomach as they passed the flames. Then they were on the other side. Shrewpaw lay crumpled on the ground, yowling in agony, while Olive mewled pitifully. Cherrypaw, who had been waiting for them, was next to the kit in an instant trying, to calm her down. Squirrelpaw crouched down beside Shrewpaw, licking his ears, and speaking to him softly. He growled and stood up, leaning heavily on her. Cherrypaw picked up Olive, who had quietened down again. The group struggled towards Sunningrocks, stopping every now and then. They heard the sounds of twolegs shouting and screaming in the distance. As they neared the RiverClan border, Mistfall, Blackstripe and Mouseshadow emerged out of the bracken.

"Are you okay?" Mistfall asked, running towards them. Blackstripe raced to his son. Squirrelpaw let him take the apprentice's weight gratefully, and bent to lick her foreleg. It had got slightly burned and stung, but she could bear it. Mistfall took Olive from Cherrypaw's jaws, while Mouseshadow brought up the rear. They reached the temporary camp soon. Sandclaw and Violet hurried forward to take Olive. Oakclaw and Silverpaw started fussing over Squirrelpaw, and Dewbreeze rushed to Shrewpaw' side where he had fallen, too tired to even lift his head. Blackstripe and Bramblefoot carried him to the side where Dewbreeze could treat him properly. Brightsong sat next to Cherrypaw, licking her face.

Firestar joined his deputy next to the injured apprentice, a worried look on his face. Birdwing sat next to her kit, folding her legs awkwardly beneath her swollen belly. Silverpaw was fixing her leg when Squirrelpaw realized that Firestar was beckoning her. Shooing her sister away, she stood up and padded to the leader. Firestar called Cherrypaw as well, and asked what happened.

"Everycat got through," Squirrelpaw started. "But the flames were too high for me. I was searching for another way through when I heard Shrewpaw." "I helped him to Sunningrocks, but he turned back and didn't listen to me. He was determined to get back." Firestar nodded and looked at the wounded apprentice. "He deserves to be made a warrior."

"He saved my life. And Olive's," She added, looking at the young black kit playing with Larkshine's kits. Scarlet and her ginger littermate were racing around Sunningrocks, chasing Robinkit.

Suddenly twoleg voices were heard above the distant crackling of flames. There was a hissing sound far away. Firestar's ears perked up.

"Stormclaw! Take a patrol and see what that sound is. Be careful, don't be seen, and don't get hurt," the leader ordered. Stormclaw nodded and flicked his tail at Oakclaw, Grassfur, Whitefern and Brightsong.

"Can I come too?" Squirrelpaw asked, stepping forward. Stormclaw looked about to refuse, but Brightsong agreed. She joined the patrol and they set off to where the noise was coming from. As they reached, Stormclaw signalled for them to keep down, and they crept forward stealthily. Squirrelpaw blinked in surprise at what she saw. There were many twolegs, all in yellow pelts, with a long tendril which spit out water on the raging flames.

"They're clearing out the fire!" Grassfur sounded surprised. "Come on," Stormclaw said, turning around. "There's nothing more we can do here." They followed him back to their temporary camp. Stormclaw headed to Firestar to report, and Squirrelpaw joined her littermates.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Silverpaw asked. "Yes, Silverpaw, I'm fine," Squirrelpaw muttered. "Go find someone else to annoy." With an offended snort, Silverpaw sat down. Squirrelpaw found her mind going back to what Shrewpaw said when he jumped through the flames. _Something more than a friend, perhaps?_ Did he _like_ her?

"Squirrelpaw!" Robinkit's voice brought her out of the memory. She looked up at the ginger kit. "Play with us! You too, Sparrowpaw!"

Glancing at each other, the two apprentices joined the kits. "Okay, what are you playing?" Sparrowpaw asked.

With an excited bounce, Nightkit replied, "We're pretending to chase out foxes from the camp. We need you to be them." "Okay." Squirrelpaw and Sparrowpaw raced into the middle of the kits. Immediately they clambered all over them. Squirrelpaw winced as she felt thorn sharp claws tugging her pelt. She turned around and saw Nightkit, Leafkit and Scarlet on her back. Mock snarling at them, she brushed Leafkit off with a paw, and hauled Scarlet away with her teeth. Rolling over, she bushed her fur up. Nightkit ran at her with a squeak, but she fended him off and held him under her paw.

"Now I'm a fox that's going to eat you." "We'll save you Nightkit!" Leafkit squealed and pounced on Squirrelpaw's tail. Scarlet jumped on her back and pretended to bite her. Falling over as if she had been beaten, Squirrelpaw forced herself to look scared. "Oh no! These kits are going to eat me!" She mewed in mock horror. Looking around, she saw the other three kits had done the same thing to her brother.

"After you've finished, kits, maybe you can tell me how fox tastes like," Flamepelt remarked, amused. Squirrelpaw glared at the ginger warrior. "No way!" Leafkit wrinkled up her nose. "Foxes stink."

"Are you telling me I stink?" Squirrelpaw growled. Leafkit nodded he haughtily. Squirrelpaw took a step towards her and Leafkit dashed away, hiding behind Stonefrost. He looked at the kit, surprised.

"Kits! Come on! Time to sleep," Violet called. "You three too!" Larkshine added. The kits stomped off grumpily. The apprentices looked up, and realized that their denmates were preparing nests with whatever moss they could salvage.

Squirrelpaw joined Pinepaw, trying to make the elder's bedding as comfortable as possible. The nursery was already finished, and the others were making nests for the warriors and apprentices, who would sleep out in the open. Tallnight heaved himself up, his old bones creaking. He coughed as he lowered himself into his new nest. Both he and Poppyshine hadn't stopped coughing since they came to sunningrocks. Dewbreeze had already looked at them, but there was nothing she could do without supplies.

Squirrelpaw wondered if they could ask RiverClan for help. After all, Pikestar couldn't be as bad as Owlstar, right? As she was thinking this, Silverpaw padded over to her.

"I'm going to RiverClan with Dewbreeze and Blackstripe." Squirrelpaw purred. Her sister was wrinkling up her nose, probably already preparing to meet RiverClan's fishy stench. "Be careful," she warned as her sister turned away. "I will!"


End file.
